Potts’ reaction to losing his place has been spot on

Mike Simmonds

Hatters defender Dan Potts has been praised for the way he has reacted to being dropped from the side in recent weeks.

The left back had started the first 14 league for Luton, before losing his place to Alan Sheehan in the goalless draw at Notts County on October 29.

He’s a fantastic athlete, wins it well, probably an inch or two too short to be a top end centre half, but he has all the attributes and we’re delighted to have him.

Nathan Jones

Since then he had been reduced to a watching brief from the sidelines, until coming in the second half against Solihull Moors in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Potts backed that up with his first start for over a month in the 3-2 win over Swindon Town in midweek, as Jones said: “They all react well and I don’t expect any of them to react badly.

“I don’t expect any of them to be happy if they’re not playing, but they all react very, very well and we have a close-knit group here.

“They take it well as there’s always a reason behind it.

“I didn’t envisage Dan being out as long as he has been because we picked a side and I remember it vividly.

“The game we changed things was Notts County away as I felt going with Alan in that position, we’d just get a little bit more for how they play and then we kept a clean sheet and we’ve kept four in five clean sheets since.

“So it’s difficult to change as we were picking up results from clean sheets.

“At times we weren’t as fluent as we’d have liked to been, there’s always decisions to make but we’re really pleased with Dan.”

Potts was back in the side as a centre half for the Checkatrade Trophy victory at the Robins, and it’s a berth that Jones believes the 22-year-old can slot into easily.

He added: “I think he can do both.

“In terms of his early career at West ham he was a centre half and I think he’s actually played in the Premier League as a centre half for West Ham, so we know he can do both.